Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare three rehabilitation treatments, exercise therapy, acupuncture, and silicon oxide tablets (Stiper®), in women undergoing breast cancer surgery, assessing pain, depression, upper limb function, and range of motion parameters (ROM). METHODS: Seventy-nine women with pain above 3 on the visual analog pain scale (VAS) were divided into three groups: exercise group was treated with exercise therapy, acupuncture group was treated with acupuncture, and Stiper® group was treated with silicon oxide tablets in place of needles. RESULTS: Sixty-seven patients completed the treatment, 26 from exercise group, 23 from acupuncture group, and 18 from Stiper® group . There was an improvement of pain over time in all groups, the first session compared with the fifth (p < 0.001) and with the tenth (p < 0.001), but not between groups. There was a statistically significant difference in depressive symptoms using the Beck questionnaire over time in the three groups, between the first and tenth sessions (p = 0.001), between the first and fifth sessions (p = 0.052), but not between groups. Regarding the DASH questionnaire for shoulder function, there were significant differences over time at all evaluated moments (p<0.001), but not between groups. There was a statistically significant difference in ROM over time in the three groups, but not between groups. CONCLUSION: The rehabilitation of physical dysfunctions in women who survived breast cancer through exercise therapy, acupuncture, and silicon oxide tablets in pain, depression, upper limb function, and ROM, proved to be effective, without statistical difference between the groups.